The role of a Director
Our Board of Directors are responsible for making strategic decisions about the running of the Trust. They play a critical role in accountability, effectiveness and standards and have duties as both directors (under company law) and
trustees (under charity law).
The day to day running of the schools within the Trust is delegated to the Local Schools Committee and is regularly monitored to ensure high educational standards.
Our Directors bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the Trust.
Gill Marlow
Chair of the Board of Directors / Chair of the Ethos, Learning & Standards Committee
Matthew Richards
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Samantha Wood
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John Doe
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Gill Marlow was a hospital and community pharmacist for 20 years. She retrained and taught secondary maths and science to GCSE for 15 years including six years as Head of Year, leading a team of 13 tutors with 350 pupils. She ran the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme for 15 years and as a Mountain Leader she trained expedition teams for this award. She also trained teams for Ten Tors Expeditions. Her relevant skills are in leadership in Education, Maths and Science and also Data. As a governor she was the maths and data governor, the Chair of the Teaching & Learning Committee, the Chair of the Admissions Committee, on the Ethos Committee and Vice-Chair and then Chair of the Board of Governors.
Matt worked for the NHS for 23 years before leaving due to ill health. During that time he progressed from an apprenticeship in the pharmacy department to running projects at National level. Matt specialised initially in recruitment
and retention, then job evaluation with responsibilities across the South West, before moving into Quality Management of Education for doctors in training, and finally implementation of Patient Record systems and training end users.
Matt has qualifications in Project Management, HR and Employment Law, as well as over 20 years experience of supporting and representing staff as a workplace representative of the Unite Union.
Matt has been a school governor for two Church of England primary schools in North Devon over a period of almost 8 years, chairing their Finance and Resources committees, as well as advising on HR issues and recruitment.
Sam has a varied background across leadership and coaching positions in the Army, as a Captain in the Royal Signals, and in Financial Services. A Chartered Wealth Manager and now director and business owner of Wood Mitchell Financial
Planning, the thread that runs through Sam’s professional experiences is education. Passionate about social mobility and education for all, Sam has worked with schools, further and higher education organisations in supporting their
financial education and leadership development over the last 20 years and has joined Alumnis MAT to support the strategic development of the trust.
